Ghost Song
by BlackFox12
Summary: When Harry Dresden practising wizard meets one of the sidhe – who has an agenda all of her own – all sorts of problems arise
1. Chapter 1

**Ghost Song**

**Chapter One**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from The Dresden Files, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show or books, I probably own. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I don't own

**Summary:** When Harry Dresden (practising wizard) meets one of the sidhe – who has an agenda all of her own – all sorts of problems arise

**Warning(s):** Uh… Caning?; strong violence; some swearing; death (particularly nasty, supernatural murders)

**Author's Note:** This fic will be written from the POV of my original character, Raye. I'm also taking a lot of liberties with things like the hellhounds and what Lea is in the Nevernever – so don't take this all as fact from the books/television series. That having been said… I hope you all enjoy this first chapter!

* * *

If you were to speak to anyone who knew me, they'd always say something like, "Oh, yes – Raye. I hear she consorts with mortals and lets them use her powers – for a low price!"

One could say a lot about us sidhe – or the Fair Folk – but one thing most leave out is the gossip. Not that I'm saying there was no truth in the gossip, but still…

I had only gone to the mortal realm because I was bored. There are rules here in the Nevernever that I dare not break. The only excitement I tend to get is if someone discovers my real name and uses it to summon me. And that doesn't happen very often.

The name most know me by is Raye. Today, I was sitting at the top of one of the trees in the mortal world. I had my golden, curly hair in my favourite style – loose and flowing down over my shoulders to my waist. I wore a white robe enchanted against dirt, and my head was bent as I concentrated on the book I was studying.

And it was while I was reading that I became aware of two people standing under my tree, talking.

I set my book to one side, and let myself fall, my feet curling around the branch so I was simply dangling, my hair almost brushing against the top of the man's dark head. I wasn't worried, though. My magic hid me from view, even from wizards – unless they opened their Third Eye.

"I'm sorry, Murph," the man was saying. "I don't yet have enough information to tell you more than you already know."

The short, blonde woman standing next to the man didn't look dangerous at all. She reminded me of a friend of mine, one who had been captured during a battle. Kestrel was as good as I was. Or bad, depending on how you looked at it or who you talked to.

"You'd better not be messing me around, Dresden," the woman said harshly, immediately dispelling my original impression of her. "I _need_ that information."

Whatever the man replied was lost to me as I took in this information. Dresden. _Harry_ Dresden, the one wanted by Lea, one of the most powerful of the sidhe? If I could get him to her…

Maybe I'd finally get what I wanted.

I quickly pushed that aside, though. Bad idea. This wizard was powerful and cunning, if rumours were to be believed. If I was to have any hope of freeing Kestrel, I was going to have to bait the trap with something the wizard wanted more than anything else.

And no matter which world one existed in, information – knowledge – was priceless.

There was a way of making it more likely for a wizard to choose to summon me. But it would require me to give up my true name, and that was a steep price to pay – even for my friend's life.

But an opportunity like this one was unlikely to come along again in the near future, if at all. And Kestrel's life was worth _any_ price.

I mentioned earlier that I was studying, before the arrival of Harry Dresden and the woman. I do a lot of studying, both from books and simply from moving around, exploring, and learning from others. As I said, knowledge is power.

And I wanted an abundance of it.

On the wind, I whispered my name to the wizard. It carried the word to his ear, and I saw the man stiffen and look around with narrowed eyes. With a bit of luck, he'd only blame it on his intuition and not open his Third Eye.

If he did _that_, I would really be in trouble.

The woman was talking, but I couldn't hear her over the sudden roaring sound in my ears. I was being pulled back to the Nevernever. I had just enough time to call my book back to me before I ended up in my little clearing in the other realm again, only – where I had been alone before – there was now someone else there, Lea.

There is one thing that you need to understand about sidhe. It's difficult to kill us, but that doesn't mean we're immortal – just that we're stronger than most you'd find. But we _can_ still be hurt, in particular by the hellhounds.

And Lea had a _lot_ of them, being – well – the sidhe in charge of us all, I suppose.

The sidhe had her hands on her hips, and was giving me a really terrible look. By her side, the hellhounds paced restlessly, uneasily. I didn't dare take my eyes off her or her beasts as I scrambled to my feet, aware that next to our Queen, I was nothing more than a graceless child. I was suddenly aware of the fact that I had a few strands of hair loose, and put one hand up to tuck them back.

Lea frowned at me, looking more like an exasperated aunt or cousin than the sidhe I owed my allegiance to. I wasn't fooled. I had seen what she was really like, and no amount of false kindness could ever erase that image from my mind. But – as long as I followed the laws – I was safe from her.

I hoped.

"What were you doing in the mortal realm?" Lea demanded of me, her head tilted to one side.

I automatically took a step back. There were ways of harming someone without leaving a physical mark, and I was sure that Lea knew all of them. If I just gave her an excuse, I had no illusions that I would be spared.

She hated me. And I have to say, the feeling was mutual.

Still, I forced the correct amount of respect into my tone as I replied, "I was merely studying, My… Lady." _Shit._ I couldn't help cursing, and using one of the coarser words of the mortal realm than our own liquid language. But I was rattled, and Lea had just noticed my slip. To her, it would be a near unforgivable lack of respect.

As she took a step towards me, though, one of the hellhounds started growling.

I chanced a glance sideways, and found my own eyes meeting Kestrel's golden ones. She'd just used a few moments of her remaining time as a conscious being to gain control of the beast. In an attempt to save me from something I had been careless enough to bring on myself.

_No! Don't!_ I forced it into my friend's mind, and saw the hellhound's eyes dim again. Kestrel able to take control was something that had to be saved for when she could be free of Lea's control.

Without warning, she stepped forward, and hit me hard across the mouth, snapping my head back. The blow wouldn't leave a bruise – but she'd put enough power behind it to make it _hurt_. A lot.

Then, Lea waved a hand, and a crop appeared in it. I couldn't help flinching. I'd felt the power of that weapon once before, and had no desire to do so again.

"I have a plan to get you that wizard, Harry Dresden!"

To my dismay, my mouth ran away with me again. What can I say? I was desperate and scared. If I could be saved from pain even for a moment, I'd take that chance. Except for when it came to Kestrel.

All bets were off where it came to my best friend. And that was a saying I'd picked up from the mortals – yet another one.

Lea slowly lowered the crop, and I let out a breath I hadn't even realised I'd been holding. "Just what are you talking about?" she inquired in a deceptively soft tone. "Speak quickly, or you will feel my wrath."

"I heard the wizard you want talking to this woman – he called her Murph or something – and I'm planning on getting him to summon me so that I can bait a trap with what he needs most, which is knowledge." I said it all in one breath, and couldn't help feeling relieved that Kestrel had retreated again.

She wouldn't be happy with the bargain I was trying to make.

"I see." Lea was nodding slowly. "And you did this how?"

"I gave him my true name," I answered, standing up straight and ignoring the slight stinging left over from her slap.

Lea didn't show much reaction other than a slight narrowing of her eyes. But all she said was, "That is a big price for you to pay just to get the wizard to me that is rightfully mine."

I took a deep breath. Now was the moment of truth. "I wish to make a trade. I give you the wizard, and you return my friend – Kestrel – back to me, whole and well and herself again." I knew full well that I had to state clearly what I wanted, otherwise Lea would give me exactly what I asked for – Kestrel back.

But still stuck in the body of her hellhound and under her control.

To my surprise, Lea threw her head back and laughed. "Well, you are certainly bold, I'll give you that. Very well. The moment you deliver Harry Dresden to me, I will return your friend to you – just as she used to be."

I narrowed my eyes. "Right before you changed her, with all of her memories of this intact – and the guarantee that you won't take her again, _or_ let anyone else take her."

"Fine, fine." Lea waved her hand airily.

"You'll do it?" I demanded.

"Do you doubt my word?" Lea asked me acidly. "The bargain is this – when you deliver the wizard into my hands, you receive your friend back, just as she was before I took her, with all of the memories of her time under me, and the guarantee that I nor anyone else working under my orders will take her again. Of course," she continued. "You might want me to remove her memories of her time as a hellhound – it would be very traumatic for her to remember, I'm sure."

"No, just as I have stated." I stood my ground.

"Very well." Lea still had the crop in her hand, and now, she advanced on me. "Then we just have your insubordination to deal with."

I backed away. "But I'm getting that wizard for you!"

Lea paused, as if considering this. Then, she waved a hand, and two large hellhounds appeared to fasten sharp teeth onto the sides of my robe, then spin me so that my back was towards Lea, leaving me powerless to do anything about it.

"The bargain was for your friend back," Lea stated as she came up behind me. "There was nothing there about you getting out of your just punishment." She spoke a few soft words, and I felt a cool breeze as my robe was ripped apart behind me, baring the entire back of my body to her eyes.

I squeezed my eyes shut, tensing as I felt the crop rest against my bare bottom. It was then taken away, and came whistling down a moment later, creating a line of fire that elicited a yelp from me despite my intentions.

The next blow came directly below, and the next ones directly below that. By the time the sixth landed across my thighs, I was sobbing, and I couldn't help crying out loudly as the last two were delivered directly over the previous six, reigniting the pain of the strikes as well as causing their own fire.

The hellhounds let me go, and I collapsed onto my knees, shuddering and weeping. Although I didn't hear anything, I knew when Lea took the hellhounds – including Kestrel – away with her.

I knelt there, weeping, for what felt like an awfully long time before I was finally able to get to my feet again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ghost Song**

**Chapter Two**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from The Dresden Files, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show or books, I probably own. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I don't own

**Summary:** After the licking she got from Lea, Raye realises that – if she's to have any chance of rescuing Kestrel – she's going to have to get to work on getting Harry Dresden to Lea, which means finding out what's going on in the mortal realm…

**Warning(s):** Spanking (eventually); strong violence; spoilers – mainly for the book series; original characters; swearing

**Author's Note:** Thanks to those who've read and reviewed the last chapter of this. Each review really means a lot – it's nice to know when people enjoy my fics.

I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

Before I started walking, I made sure to repair the material of my robe. I winced as the cotton brushed against my still-sore backside – but I knew from past experience that the crop wouldn't have left any marks.

Even though the pain would remain for quite a while.

As I walked out of the clearing, I rubbed at my behind, and then wiped at my face to get rid of the tears. I didn't do a particularly good job at cleaning myself up, but it didn't take long for me to get to the lake that was close by, and I crouched down to wash my face, then brought up a light breeze to dry my skin.

If only I had the magic to save my friend… And, of course, remove the pain. But I couldn't do the really important things.

As I stood up, I figured that I couldn't spend any time feeling sorry for myself. Every second wasted was a further moment for Kestrel to give in to the soul – or lack of – of the hellhound. And I couldn't allow that to happen.

Not if I could do anything about it.

By the time I pulled myself out of my thoughts, I realised where I was – at the Faerie Dust, one of the taverns in the Nevernever. It was also one of the best places to go if one was looking for specific information. And maybe someone in there would be able to tell me what information Harry Dresden was looking for in the mortal realm. I wasn't going to beat around the tree – or was it bush? – to save Kestrel.

I wiped at my face, trying to get rid of the last traces of tears. When it came to dealing with others of my kind, showing any kind of weakness was virtually suicide. And for the few mortals with magical ability? Well, most of them didn't understand what we were like. Give me an inch, and I'd take a mile.

Since I was just about as presentable as I was ever going to be, I stepped up to the door, and it disappeared to allow me access. I stepped into the smoky room, and headed up to the bar, but was stopped by one of the male sidhe stepping in front of me. He looked me slowly up and down, and apparently liked what he saw, because he smirked at me.

"Are you busy, Raye? Or would you like to come with me and… have some fun?"

I arched a brow at him. "Sorry," I replied. "There are more important things for me to do. Besides, you're not exactly my type." _Yes, my type is the tall, dark-haired, brooding mortal type,_ I thought. Then, I blinked. Argh! I didn't mean that! It was bad enough that I had to give the wizard my true name. Now, he was invading my thoughts!

Lachlan watched me, his expression unreadable – at least as far as I was concerned. "So what _is_ your type?"

"Not you," I answered promptly, and pushed past him to head over to the bar itself. I couldn't afford any distractions right now. I had a deadline, and the worst part was that I didn't even know what it was.

The bartender – a red-haired sidhe with huge, feathery wings coming out of her back – nodded to me. "Hello, Raye. Want the usual?"

I considered that for a moment, and then nodded. "Sure." Getting drunk seemed like a _very_ good idea right now. Even though I couldn't get totally wasted, surely _one_ drink couldn't hurt. Well, even if it could, I didn't care.

Maya smiled, and mixed up my cocktail of alcohol, which would be lethal to any mortals. I took it with a soft murmur of thanks, and leaned on my hip against the bar as I turned to survey the occupants, trying to decide who might be the most likely to give me the information I needed.

"So what are you looking for?" Maya asked softly from behind me.

I turned back round to look into her aqua eyes. "One of the sidhe who might know what's going on in the mortal realm," I answered. I knew I could trust Maya, to a certain extent – but I didn't want to tell her everything. I definitely wouldn't put it past Lea to go after Maya in an attempt to get to me.

Maya raised her eyebrows, and turned to start mixing another drink. "You could always ask _me_, you know," she said. "I've spent quite a lot of time in the mortal realm, and particularly recently."

To be honest, it hadn't occurred to me to ask Maya. Sometimes, I forget that she can't spend all of her time working in the tavern. I know that sounds really bad – but give me a break. I have a lot on my mind right now. I'm sure it's quite difficult to keep everything in the forefront of one's brain all at the same time. Well, it is for _me_, at least. Do I not think all the time? Probably. Am I insensitive? I hope not. So, I asked. "Do you know what's going on in the mortal world?"

"The ghosts are acting up again," Maya answered, continuing to mix up the drinks. "Something's making them angry. Either that or someone's exerting control over the spirits. But I'm sure you understand that even most of us sidhe don't have anything like that sort of power."

"I guess…" I started biting at one of my fingernails, a bad habit that I've picked up. "You don't happen to know any names?"

"Why is this so important to you?" Maya questioned in turn. "If you let me know more information, I might be able to help you more."

I opened my mouth. But before I could say anything more to Maya, I felt a tugging at my soul. I could hear my name being called – he'd managed to pronounce it exactly right, getting all the liquid syllables correct. I didn't try to fight the pull, even though I still hadn't found the information I needed.

But trying to fight would be a waste of energy, anyway…

As I was pulled out of the Nevernever, I had to close my eyes as I – briefly – lost consciousness.

* * *

My first thought when I came to again was that the place I was now in was that it really didn't look like a wizard's hideaway. For one thing, it was a mess. There were papers and various objects – I assumed ingredients for spells and potions – cluttered about everywhere. Since one of the things I'm apparently famous for is speaking without thinking, my mouth decided to run away with me again.

"Well, this is a lot messier than I expected."

"Looks like you got a talkative fairy this time, Harry."

The comment seemed to come from a skull with glowing orange eyes. I drew myself up in the protective circle, and primly addressed the skull with all of my usual eloquence. "My _name_ is Raye. And 'fairy' isn't the correct term. It's _sidhe_. Or 'faerie', if you prefer."

"There's a difference?" the man I had seen before asked.

"Fairies are silly little creatures with wings who flutter around too much and aren't very observant," I replied, unable to help the slight sneer in my tone. "As you can see, _we're_ mostly human sized… Some a bit bigger…"

"And some a bit smaller," the skull cut in. "Particularly compared to Harry."

I arched an eyebrow at the skull. "It's not my fault he's too tall. I'm surprised he doesn't keep banging his head on the ceiling."

Harry looked in the skull's direction, and narrowed his eyes. Whether that was some sort of signal, I didn't know – but the skull's voice subsided. I thought I could hear a muttering coming from that direction, though…

I turned my attention back to Harry, crossing my legs on the floor in front of me and resting my hands on my knees. "So? I'm a very busy sidhe, you know. Could you get on with asking whatever it is you want to ask? And then I can get on with what _I_ need to do." I had to put the right amount of reluctant annoyance into my tone. It wouldn't do to start making the wizard suspicious.

"Well, first things first," Harry said. "Why did you want me to summon you?"

I fought to keep the panic off my face. "What makes you think I _wanted_ you to summon me?" I asked in what I thought was quite a calm tone. "Surely you know how humiliating we sidhe find it to have a _human_ – even a wizard like you – to be able to summon us and use one of us as if we were little more than… slaves."

"See, a funny thing happened to Harry earlier this evening," the skull commented. "Your name was whispered to him on the wind."

"Those wind spirits have very big mouths," I commented. "As do you… But if I didn't know better, I'd say you _are_ an air spirit. You act like one, at least." I looked at Harry. "You should tell him to be more careful with just throwing your name around like that. Anyone could pick it up."

"There's power in names," Harry pointed out, leaning casually against the wall. "Isn't that part of the payment you'd ask for? One of my names. I thought I'd save you the trouble of asking for it. My name is Harry Dresden." He pronounced both carefully, being polite enough to sound them out exactly.

What a nice wizard.

I decided it was unlikely Harry had worked out I had anything to do with his godmother. As far as I knew, Lea had all of his names – there was something about a deal they'd made years ago. To be honest, I didn't know much about it. Hey, it's not like that was important at all. Of course, maybe I'd better now _start_ paying attention to things like that.

"Just get on with it, Harry," the skull said. "You know what the sidhe are like. Slippery as eels, the lot of them."

Hey! I took offence at that remark. All right, so I was going to turn round and betray Harry the first chance I got – but still! I had a good reason for doing so!

"Now about these spirits…" Harry started.

A split second warning was all I got. Something moved in the air, and I yelled out a warning before I really thought about it, both out loud and into the wizard's mind.

"_WATCH OUT!"_

Harry moved, and the tentacles hit the wall he'd been standing in front of. I managed to make out a vague, indistinct form. Shit! Spirits weren't supposed to be able to physically attack the living!

And as the spirit turned its attention elsewhere, I had just enough time to think that it shouldn't be attacking _me_, either.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ghost Song**

**Chapter Three**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from The Dresden Files, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show or books, I probably own. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I don't own

**Warning(s):** Spanking (eventually); swearing; strong violence; spoilers for some of the books

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed this fic so far!

* * *

Even as the ghost hurtled in my direction, I wasn't panicking; at least not as much as I _could_ have been. After all, a circle created to hold one of the sidhe should easily be able to hold out a ghost, right?

Wrong.

As the spirit breached the circle, I threw myself backwards, and then let out a cry as my head cracked back into something solid. The barrier of the circle. And as I stared up at the indistinct, tentacled creature, my head hurt too much for me to even _think_ about using my power, even if I had the inclination to do so.

"Aw… Damnit," I moaned. It wasn't fair! I felt like crying. I couldn't die _here_, in the mortal realm. It was here that ghosts had the power to harm – and even kill – one of the sidhe.

Then, as one of tentacles – covered with suckers – reached for my throat, something went whizzing past my head. Before I could see what it was, my wrist was grabbed, and I was pulled along and up the stairs by the wizard. At the door, he paused, turned, and cast a spell back at the spirit, before literally dragging me up and slamming the door behind us both, locking the ghost – if that was what it was – down in the room.

"I thought ghosts couldn't physically attack the living!" Harry gasped, speaking to the skull – which he had apparently grabbed just before getting me out of the circle.

"What about _me_?" I demanded, before the skull – Bob or whatever its name was – could reply. "That was no ordinary spirit! It shouldn't have had the power to breach the circle, and even if it _did_ – it should have been broken for me as well." I put a hand up to rub at the back of my head, wincing. "Oww…"

Harry stared at me, his eyes – and I couldn't help noticing that they were particularly nice ones – wide. "You're hurt," he said, almost as if he couldn't work out exactly what had happened. I didn't only notice his eyes – I could see that he was obviously exhausted, and his body was overtaken by a fine trembling.

Mortals. They're so much weaker than most of us sidhe.

I rolled my eyes. "No shit," I replied. "Or didn't you _see_ the huge, tentacled ghost launch itself at me?!"

"It shouldn't have been able to breach the circle," the skull commented. "You couldn't get out, and it wasn't supposed to get in."

"Tell that to my head." All right, so I'm snappy when something tries to attack me. Sue me. It's not like I went in thinking, _Oh, I'm gonna be attacked by an angry spirit! I'd better have some offensive spells prepared!_ This whole _thing_ hadn't gone according to plan! Might as well face it – it's not like _anything_ I've ever tried doing has gone exactly right. If it had, Kestrel wouldn't have been taken and transformed into a hellhound.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as I felt someone take my hand – Harry. Despite obviously being tired, he led me over to one of the chairs, and helped me to sit down. As he moved to take a look at the back of my head, he asked, "Can I get you something? A glass of water? Wine? Food?"

"A glass of water will be fine," I answered, without really thinking about it. "Could I get some ice in it?"

"Sure." Harry lowered his hands from where he'd been lightly probing my head. "Are you feeling dizzy, nauseas, anything like that?"

I arched an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, right." Harry shrugged, and made his way to what I assumed was the kitchen area. I sighed and sat back, then turned my attention back to the door behind me, wondering what the tentacled ghost was going to do. Wouldn't it make more sense for us to get _out_ of here? The spirit was clearly violent.

"You should have more faith in him." Apparently, Bob had noticed where my attention was. "That was a banishing spell he cast at the spirit. Only temporary – but it should hold for a while, at least."

"He's good," I admitted, a little reluctantly. "Also clearly hasn't slept in quite some time. Are things really that bad here?" I'd never thought about it before – but what if these spirits succeeded in destroying the mortal world? Where would that leave us sidhe, and the other supernatural entities?

It was a terrifying thought.

"Harry is under the impression that he is invincible," Bob told me. "It's a notion I've made many attempts to dissuade him of. Not that he ever listens to _me_, of course…"

As the skull prattled on, I sighed and closed my eyes. For some reason, I felt incredibly weary. Maybe it was the thrashing and everything else that had happened which had drained me – but somehow, I didn't think so. I'd only ever heard about spirits with the ability to take energy once or twice – and never with one of the sidhe – but that's what I felt like.

And if only that blasted skull would stop talking…

Next thing I knew, I felt a cold glass being pressed into my hand. I glanced at Harry's face, but avoided meeting his eyes. The last thing I needed was a soulgaze right now, when I was feeling so tired. Chances were, it would reveal to him too much about myself that I'd prefer to keep hidden.

I leaned back into the chair a little and started taking small sips of the water. I kept my head down, since Harry didn't seem to be taking enough care not to look into my eyes. Then again, there was no reason he should be. Wizards thought that _every_ creature from the Nevernever didn't have a soul – including us sidhe.

To be honest, it's a nice thought, particularly regarding Lea. To think of her being some soulless creature… Well, it's not true. I wasn't going to correct the misconceptions, though. I have my own reasons for allowing people to believe that we don't have souls. So I couldn't let myself get trapped in a soulgaze.

"What I can't work out is why you got hurt. You have magical abilities, after all. One little ghost shouldn't be _that_ much of a problem to a full-fledged sidhe."

I zoned in again in time to hear Bob make that comment. I blame what I said next on extreme stress, grief and tiredness. "Well, it wasn't like I came into this expecting to get into a confrontation with an angry spirit."

Harry paused in the act of lighting a few candles and glanced at me. "So you _did_ tell me your name deliberately."

Oh, crap! My eyes widened as I attempted my most innocent look. "Not at all," I lied. "But being summoned is always a possibility. And those circles are supposed to be protective – to let no one out or in."

I hadn't seen Harry pick up his wizard's staff, but he suddenly had it aimed in my direction. "I broke the circle," he said. "According to the rules, you getting out of that circle gives you free rein to attack me. Yet my attention has been away from you for most of the time, and you haven't once made any attempt to do so."

He had me there… I shrugged. "Maybe I'm just wary of your magic. Did you ever think of that?" It was true, to an extent.

The skull gave an impatient-sounding snort. "When he was getting that water, there was a pretty good chance he wouldn't be able to defend himself – and I'm sure you're smart enough to realise that." Bob paused, and then continued, "If you're going to tell anyone anything, it might as well be Harry. He has these notions about females and chivalry. If you're in trouble, he's the only one who'd be stupid enough to put himself in danger to help you."

I stared at Harry – who wasn't faltering – but I somehow believed the skull's words. And maybe I had a different way of getting what I needed from him.

So I decided to tell at least part of the truth.

"Lea has my friend, Kestrel," I said quietly, letting my shoulders droop and my expression turn pained. "It was my fault – I had a plan that didn't turn out quite the way I hoped. Now… I don't know how to get her back." I didn't have to fake the note of exhausted hopelessness in my voice.

"It could be a trick, Harry," Bob warned.

The wizard had already laid aside his staff, though. He stepped right up to me, his expression sympathetic. I had him. I'd had the answer all along, after he'd taken the time to get me out of that circle. I just couldn't see it until his spirit had unwisely pointed out Harry's thoughts towards chivalry.

I suppose I should have felt bad about deciding to use him like that. But I really didn't. In this case, the ends more than justified the means. So I felt relieved – and had an odd pang in my chest – when Harry spoke next.

"What can I do to help?"


End file.
